Geocentrism
Eratosthenes & Telescopes
Copernican Revolution
Galileo, Kepler & Newton
Miscellaneous
100
In the word 'geocentric' the prefix 'geo' comes from the latin and it means...
Earth
100
For 40 years during the 2nd century BC, Eratosthenes was the head librarian of the great library of...
Alexandria
100
Where was Nicolaus Copernicus from?
Poland
100
An ellipse with an eccentricity of 0.0001 is almost a
circle
100
What famous composer composed the music for Jurassic Park, Harry Potter, Indiana Jones and Star Wars to name a few?
John Williams
200
Although often attributed to Ptolemy, the geocentric model was previously supported by this Greek philosopher, who also deduced the Earth was round because of its shadow during lunar eclipses.
Aristotle
200
What are the names of the two observatories on WRA campus?
Loomis Observatory
Frost Observatory
200
Even though Copernicus spent his whole life believing in the heliocentric model. He published his findings on his
deathbed
200
Reflective telescopes use ___________ instead of lenses.
Mirrors
200
Name the animal
Shoebill Stork
300
Ptolemy used Epicycles to explain why sometimes planets like Mars appeared to move backwards in the sky. This motion is commonly known as...
retrograde motion
300
For Eratosthenes' experiment to work it HAD to be done only during this day
Summer solstice
300
The heliocentric model was more elegant than the ptolemic geocentric model. One example is that it got completely rid of _________________ (used to explain explain retrogade motion)
Epicycles
300
According to Kepler's 3rd law, the semi-major axis cubed is equal to...
the planets' orbital period squared.
300
What is the capital of Poland?
Warsaw
400
According to Aristotle, the planets, stars and other objects in the night sky were made of a fifth element known as __________
Aether
400
'stadia' was an ancient Greek unit of measurement for...
length
400
Copernicus' idea of a heliocentric model was refuted initially. Other scientists claimed that if the Earth really went around the sun, we would be able to see an apparent shift in the stars above. This 'shift' effect was later discovered by use of telescopes and is known as the
Parallax effect
400
When an astronaut of mass 80kg floating in space pushes another astronaut of mass 80kg, they both accelerate equally away from each other at opposite directions. What physical law explains this?
Newton's 3rd Law
400
In the US government, what does DOGE stand for?
Department Of Government Efficiency
500
For about how long was the geocentric model adopted by humanity?
about 1400 years
500
The equation for magnification in a telescope is simply...
Focal length of objective lens / focal length of eyepiece lens
or:
Fo/Fe
500
This man, follower of Copernicus' heliocentric model, took it some steps further and claimed that not only was the sun the middle of the solar system but that there were many more suns and that those other suns probably had other planets revolving around them and that, undoubtedly, those planets could harbor life.
Giordano Bruno
500
Name the Galilean moons
Europa, Callisto, Ganymede, Io
500
'All you touch and all you see is all your life will ever be' is a famous line from the song Breathe, a song composed by this musical band.
Pink Floyd